Reprinted with permission from Alternet
The federal government has quietly released two reports that together destroy many right wing conspiracy theories and talking points on the coronavirus and the COVID-19 vaccine.
Contrary to the false claims from right wing extremists that "natural immunity" is more powerful and "better" than the coronavirus vaccines, the CDC released a report finding those who are unvaccinated and contracted COVID-19 are five times more likely to be re-infected than those who are fully vaccinated.
That report, CBS News adds, shows that "vaccine-induced immunity was more protective than infection-induced immunity."
"We now have additional evidence that reaffirms the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, even if you have had prior infection. This study adds more to the body of knowledge demonstrating the protection of vaccines against severe disease from COVID-19," said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Epidemiologist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding weighs in with results from the study showing for the elderly "natural immunity" is even worse than for younger patients.
Meanwhile, the Director of National Intelligence has released a report that finds the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 "was not developed as a biological weapon."
Further destroying right wing claims the DNI's report adds the coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2 "probably was not genetically engineered," and says that "two agencies believe there was not sufficient evidence to make an assessment either way."
"Finally, the IC [Intelligence Community] assesses China's officials did not have foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak of COVID-19 emerged."
The report leaves the door open on exactly how the coronavirus came into being, and how it came into contact with humans.
Different Intelligence Agencies have different position, the report says, with some saying "SARS-CoV-2 infection was most likely caused by natural exposure to an animal infected with it," and other agencies say it "most likely was the result of a laboratory-associated incident, probably involving experimentation, animal handling, or sampling by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The report also calls for China to be more transparent.
